Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

A Coupled Hazard Simulation And Post-Disaster Resource Optimization Framework, Stephen M. Cunningham

Theses and Dissertations

Extreme events, such as natural or human-caused disasters, cause mental health stress in affected communities. While the severity of these outcomes varies based on socioeconomic standing, age group, and degree of exposure, disaster planners can mitigate potential stress-induced mental health outcomes by assessing early, intermediate, and long-term treatment interventions by social workers and psychologists. However, local and state authorities are typically underfunded, understaffed, and have ongoing health and social service obligations that constrain mitigation and response activities. A resource assignment framework is developed as a coupled-state transition and linear optimization model that assists planners in optimally allocating constrained resources and …